Little Moments
by amyyrileyy
Summary: Sequel to 'Happy Mother's Day'. Derek reflects on the little moments that make up his relationship with JJ.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, I'm a couple weeks late, I know, but this story just came to me out of the blue today and then I realized that so many people had asked for a sequel to my short story from Mother's Day last year, so I decided to tie them together. I believe this is only going to be 4 or 5 chapters; I only have the first two actually written at this point. Anyway, if you haven't read 'Happy Mother's Day', you might want to do so first, just to clarify a few things. Otherwise, enjoy! And please, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Or Brad Paisley.

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Chapter One

"Yeah, yeah, Jay, I got it. Don't worry about it. Take your time." Derek kicked the door to the small apartment closed as he dropped his go-bag on the ground and headed into the kitchen. "Jay, I promise. It's fine." He shook his head as he quickly began digging around the cabinets for pots and pans. "Okay, yeah, I'll see you when you get here. I love you, too."

After he heard the 'click' on the other end of the phone, signaling that JJ had hung up on her end, he dropped his phone from his shoulder and placed it on the counter before continuing the task before him. It'd be a year since he surprised JJ on Mother's Day and he was planning another surprise tonight.

Once he had the water heating up, he turned and flipped the switch on the small radio JJ had placed in the corner, filling the room with the sound of the local country station. He chuckled when he realized that JJ must have been listening to it last, since country clearly wasn't his first choice. Deciding to leave it as it was, he turned back to the stove. Dinner was going to be simple; JJ loved simple. While he knew that JJ had a lot of paperwork to finish up, he also knew that it wasn't going to take her as long as she thought it would, so he didn't have that much time to get everything together.

Tossing some pasta into the boiling water, he turned the burner down low and pulled out a jar of sauce out of the cabinet above his head. As he stirred the pasta, he absentmindedly hummed along to a familiar song on the radio. He vaguely remembered JJ singing along to this song a couple mornings prior on their drive to work.

As he continued stirring the pasta and sauce, he began to think back over the last year of his life. It was a well-known fact that Derek Morgan was a ladies man. His many flings and girlfriends were always a common topic within the office gossip mill. That all changed though, once he got up the nerve to ask JJ out. He was so nervous that night; planning the dinner on Mother's Day, making sure Hotch was okay with the relationship (which he obviously was), and hoping that Penelope knew what she was talking about when she mentioned JJ's feelings towards him.

_Flashback (One Year Ago)_

_Derek heard the door unlock and watched it open slowly, revealing a very confused media liaison in the doorway._

"_What…?" She had struggled to form a coherent sentence, as she was clearly trying to wrap her mind the scene in front of her. "Derek?"_

_ Taking a deep breath as he approached her, Derek lifted JJ's chin with his index finger and pressed his lips to hers, pulling back slightly after a second to meet her eyes. "Happy Mother's Day, JJ."_

_ "But… what?" She had asked, still completely and utterly confused._

_ "It seems you and I managed to let our little secrets slip to Penelope and she took it upon herself to do what she does best." He chuckled. "I know you're completely confused and probably pretty overwhelmed right now so why don't you go upstairs, wash up, and we can talk over dinner?"_

_ "Um, yeah, okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." She nodded, turning slowly before suddenly rushing up the stairs._

_ Not even five minutes later, she came back down the stairs, still clad in her work pants but she had changed into a less formal top and run a brush through her long hair. Derek rose to his feet when she walked back into the room, rushing to her side of the table to pull her chair out for her, smiling as she took the seat and took in the large pile of pasta on the plate in front of her._

"_I didn't know you cooked." She stated, trying to break the ice._

"_My mother taught me when I was younger. She said it was necessary for a man to know how to cook for his wife." He replied easily, feeling his nerves lessen the longer they were sat at the table._

"_So… you wanted to talk?"_

_Derek smiled again. "Yeah, I, uh, I don't know… I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just goin' to come right and say it. I, I care about you, Jay, a lot. And, and I know, I know my, uh, reputation precedes me but I don't want that anymore. I don't want any more flings, I don't want to go out and pick up girls. I want you, I want us. And I know it sounds scary because God, I'd scared out of my mind right now but knowing, knowing that you might just want the same thing…"_

"_Derek." JJ interrupted, standing up from her seat and slowly crossing to his side of the table. "Stop talking." She leaned down and kissed his cheek quickly. "Just, stop talking." She whispered, slowly lowering herself onto his lap before crushing her lips against his._


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Sorry guys, I suck. I haven't had any motivation to write anything. None of my stories on here or any of my original ones. One of my friends said something to me tonight though and I think it brought me out of my funk because not only did I finish Chapter 2 finally, but I finished Chapters 3-7 as well. So since I work such crazy hours, I'm going to upload a handful tonight and if you guys are still interested, I'll upload the rest tomorrow,. Just review and remind me! :)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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Chapter Two

That night was easily the best night of his life. They spent the next month, taking things slow, going out on dates and getting to know one another on a more personal level before making the relationship official and taking things to the next intimate level.

_**Well, I'll never forget the first time that I heard,**_

_**That pretty little mouth say that dirty word,**_

_**And I can't even remember what she backed my truck into,**_

_**But she covered her mouth and her face got red,**_

_**And she just looked so darn cute,**_

_**That I couldn't even act like I was mad.**_

_**Yeah, I live for little moments like that.**_

Chuckling while he listened to the song, Derek automatically flashed back to the first time he heard JJ drop an 'F-bomb'. Sure, he knew she had a mouth on her; he'd heard her share of various curse words, but nothing as extreme as this one. She had been mortified at the situation while he had just laughed it off; reassuring her that it wasn't a big deal.

_Flashback (Previous Summer)_

_ His flight was scheduled to land at 8:35 that morning and she was determined to be on time. Henry was spending the week with Will in New Orleans and Derek was flying in from Chicago that morning. He had gone out there to spend a couple days with his mother for her birthday. Before he boarded his flight though, he had called her to tell her to just drive his truck to the airport instead of getting a cab, since her SUV was in the shop for its' yearly inspection and a tune-up._

_ Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, she realized that she only had about fifteen minutes to get to his gate so she quickly found a parking spot and hurried inside. Practically jogging across the airport, she made it to the correct gate just as the passengers were beginning to exit the plane. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she felt her smile grow as least three times the normal size when she finally saw her boyfriend exiting. She watched as he glanced around the waiting area briefly before his eyes settled on her, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He barely had a chance to move before her body was crushed against his, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her lips pressed against his._

_ "I missed you." She mumbled against his mouth, refusing to pull away just yet._

_ Derek smiled. "I missed you, too. C'mon, let's go someplace a little less crowded." Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her into his side and together, they headed towards the parking garage._

_ "Did you want to drive?" She asked quietly as they approached the black truck._

_ Derek shook his head. "No, it's alright, babe. I'm a little worn from the flight. You go ahead."_

_ As she threw the truck into reverse, she glanced in her mirrors and screwed up her face at the realization that she was parked in a very tight corner. Pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth, she concentrated on slowly backing the large vehicle out of the spot._

_ "You've got a little more room, babe." Derek yawned, trying to help her navigate the truck. Sure, she could drive an SUV like a Nascar driver but his truck was a bit bigger and there were more blind spots._

_ Nodding, JJ pressed down on the gas slightly, turning the wheel slowly. Unfortunately, when Derek said a 'little more room', he meant next to none and the sounds of metal crunching against concrete interrupted the otherwise silent vehicle._

_ JJ snapped her view to the mirror, realizing that the bed of the truck was now pushed up against the wall of the parking garage. "Fuck." The word was out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying. Eyes wide in shock, she slapped both hands over her mouth and glanced at Derek, her eyes teary and her face reddening when she realized that he was staring at her. "Derek, I'm sooo sorry! I just, I thought -."_

_ But instead of the angry response she was expecting, he just continued to stare, mouth open in shock. After a minute, he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and cut of her panicking but incredibly cute rambling. "Did you just drop an F-bomb?"_

_ "What?" She asked, confused as to why he wasn't angrier._

_ "An F-bomb. You totally just said it." He accused with a smirk. "I knew you had a mouth on you, Jareau, but I can't say I ever expected __that__ one to come out of there."_

_ "Derek… Seriously? I just backed your car into a wall and all you're concerned about is that I… 'dropped an F-bomb'?" She exclaimed, completely flustered._

_ "Babe. Calm down." He chuckled. "It's alright."_

_ "Alright?! A wall, Derek! I hit a wall!" Her face was the color of a MacIntosh apple at this point, completely embarrassed and somewhat panicky at what just happened._

_ "Jay, take a deep breath. I have insurance. It's fine." He smiled, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. "And yes, all I'm concerned about right now is you. And how incredibly cute you look when you get embarrassed and flustered."_

_ "I, I'm not… I mean…" She stumbled over her words, trying to form a coherent sentence._

_ Shaking his head, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. "It's okay. Let's just call a tow truck." He kissed her again. "And a cab."_

That day was definitely near the top of the list of favorite moments that he had of their relationship so far. The way JJ's face turned beet red when she realized what she did and said just made him love her even more. She always tried so hard to be the best, not wanting to let anyone down, so for her to let him to be there for those weak moments, it just made their relationship that much more special to him.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry guys, mixed up my numbers. Only 6 chapters in total. Here's Chapter 3. Don't forget to review and remind me to upload more tomorrow if you want to read the rest!

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Chapter Three

Still amused by that memory, he glanced into the pans, making sure that both the pasta and sauce were cooking nicely before turning towards the refrigerator and pulling out a loaf of French bread. Derek definitely wasn't into the country scene but this song… it was slowly becoming one of his favorites. He made a mental note to avoid telling JJ that she was actually right about music for once. She'd never let him live it down. As he set the timer, leaving just enough time for the bread to warm without burning, he thought about the last time the oven was used.

_**Well that's just like last year on my birthday;**__**  
**__**She lost all track of time and burnt the cake,**__**  
**__**And every smoke detector in the house was goin' off,**__**  
**__**And she was just about to cry until I took her in my arms,**__**  
**__**And I tried not to let her see me laugh;**__**  
**__**Yeah I live for little moments like that.**_

It was just a couple weeks prior, on his birthday. JJ was definitely no chef; in fact, she could barely boil water, and she had decided she was going to bake Derek a cake for his birthday. Why she decided to do this, Derek had no idea, but it was fun, nonetheless.

_Flashback (Three weeks ago)_

_"Derek! Stay out of here!" JJ squealed, throwing a dish towel through the doorway at his retreating back. "I want to do this myself!"_

_ "Jay, I promise! I won't help! I'll even sit on my hands!" He all but pleaded. It wasn't that he didn't have any faith in her. He just knew that she couldn't bake, or cook._

_ "No! Go away! I'll be out in a few minutes!" She replied sternly, stomping her foot to emphasize her point. She knew she wasn't any good in the kitchen but she was determined to make this cake for Derek's birthday. She'd reread the directions three times before blending everything together and all she had left to do was, well, do the baking. And really? Who couldn't handle putting a cake into the oven and setting a timer?_

_ She heard Derek's exaggerated sigh seconds before she heard his large body falling onto the plush couch in her living room. Shaking her head at his antics, she dropped the pan in the oven and kicked the door shut behind her. As she wiped down the kitchen counters, she glanced through the doorway to see that Derek hadn't moved; face down in the couch cushions, feet dangling over the armrest. Smiling at the sight, she tossed the dish towel onto the counter and headed into the living room._

_ "Derek?" She broke the silence of the room, pushing her index finger into the back of his thigh. "I'm sorry I kicked you out of the kitchen…"_

_ "Hmph!" He grunted into the cushion before rolling onto his back so he was looking up at her. "Whatever."_

_ "Deerreekkk…" She whined, leaning against the couch. "It was supposed to be a surprise!"_

_ "Jay, you can't cook. I just didn't want you burning the place down." He replied, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "You do have to live here afterward."_

_ "That's not fair." JJ told him as she pouted at the obvious truth in his statement, lifting her leg over his body so that she was straddling him. Resting her hands on his chest, she leaned down to press her lips to his. "It's a good thing I like you, Morgan." She mumbled as she kissed him deeply, slipping her hands under his black t-shirt._

_ "I guess so." He grinned, returning the kiss just as eagerly; both of them oblivious to the fact that the oven timer was going off in the kitchen._

The timer had proceeded to ring for the next ten minutes before JJ had suddenly leapt out of Derek's lap when the smell of burnt food made its' way into the living room. He had followed her into the other room just in time to see her pulling a pan of a blackened mess out of the oven. She had dropped the pan on the stove and walked back into his open and waiting arms, pouting slightly.

Granted the cake had been ruined, the whipped cream and hot fudge she had purchased earlier, intended to go along with the gallon of chocolate ice cream in her freezer, was put to very, very good use.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

When he first met JJ, she was the picture of perfection, of professionalism, of everything he wasn't. It used to drive him insane, honestly. But now… now he gets to see them, her imperfections, and by God does he love them.

_**I know she's not perfect but she tries so hard for me,**__**  
**__**And I thank god that she isn't 'cause how boring would that be.**__**  
**__**It's the little imperfections it's the sudden change in plans,**__**  
**__**When she misreads the directions and we're lost but holdin' hands;**__**  
**__**Yeah I live for little moments like that.**_

After they decided to become an official couple, she still tried to put up that front; it was as if she was always in liaison-mode. It took her weeks, almost two full months, before she really let her true self show when they weren't at work. He remembered that night perfectly, too.

_Flashback_

_ "Hey Emily!" JJ exclaimed, greeting the newest member of the team as she approached the table that they had taken over._

_ "Hey guys." Emily replied with a smile before turning toward the closest waitress and ordering a drink. "Sorry, I'm late. Had to feed Sergio."_

_ "I'm just glad you made it. The guys were starting to me feel really outnumbered." The blonde chuckled, gesturing to the other four occupants of the table. "Besides, I need someone to dance with!"_

_ Emily laughed. "How much have you had to drink, JJ?"_

_ "Just this one!" She grabbed her friends hand once she had received her drink from the waitress. "And maybe another one!"_

_ "It's about time JJ finally let loose." Rossi commented. "A daughter of a friend of mine went to Georgetown around the same time and knew of her."_

_ "Knew of her?" Derek asked, trying to play it of as a curious co-worker. The team wasn't aware of their change in relationship status just yet and he wasn't about to let them in on that secret. They had briefly discussed what they should tell everyone during the first month when they had begun dating and had agreed to wait until they were steady and stable in the relationship._

_ "Yeah, she was quite popular apparently. Not that that should surprise us, but she was friends with everyone, really outgoing and always available to have a good time." He explained. "And NOT in that way, Morgan."_

_ Derek chuckled, knowing exactly what Rossi was talking about, since it had taken her almost two months from his surprise dinner to allow herself to that level of intimacy with him. Not that he was complaining; they'd only be together for three months now and only official for the last two of them._

_After that comment from Rossi though, Spencer had apparently decided to start rambling off statistics about small town girls being very welcoming and the genuine life of the party versus city girls who may act that way but were, more often than not, doing it for attention. Or something like that; Derek couldn't say that he was even listening. He was more focused on his current girlfriend and his partner dancing together, probably jokingly flirting with the college-aged boys standing near them, just to tease them. He spent most of the night watching them actually, including the moment when one patron got a little too close to Emily and JJ handled the situation without missing a beat._

_ Later that night, as Derek and JJ walked through the doorway to the blonde's townhouse, it was as if she had given up any pretenses of being completely one hundred percent. In fact, as soon as that door was shut, she began dragging her feet towards the stairs, shedding clothes as she went. Derek had let out a sigh of relief as he watched her, realizing that she finally didn't care that she didn't look or wasn't acting her best. She was exhausted and showing it. That night, she had asked him to hold her and she told him the story of her first-hand experience with a man getting too physical with her in her high school days. He didn't say much; he just pulled her tightly against himself, listened, and told her that he loved her (for the first time). To which she of course responded the same._

_ The next morning when they woke up, neither of them brought up the topic but she didn't try to pretend that she hadn't let him in on that moment of vulnerability either. Since then, she had gotten more comfortable in the relationship; the looks, touches… they seemed to happen more frequently and in more public places._

Since then, Derek knew that this relationship was the one that was going to last. He was never going to give up on them, regardless of what JJ said, did or thought. He was in it to win it and she was just going to have to agree. The following week, he had gone out to the jeweler's, found the perfect ring, and spent the next nine months preparing for the moment.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Nine months. He waited nine months for that perfect moment. It had almost happened before tonight but he had changed his mind, knowing that there was definitely going to be a better moment. A moment that he could plan out and make sure everything was ready for. That night though… he was so close…

_Flashback_

_It was just a regular Tuesday night; nothing special had happened or was going to happen that night. It was about four months ago; eight months into their relationship. They had come home from work together, planning on ordering takeout, watching a movie, and heading to bed together. JJ had asked him to spend the night; she wouldn't admit it to her team but she was feeling a little discouraged after their last case. It had involved popular high school girls being stalked and kidnapped by a serial rapist in a small town in Oregon. Needless to say, JJ had found herself slightly too close to the situation and needed to step back briefly before continuing and that had bothered her. So when she asked Derek to stay with her tonight, he hadn't hesitated._

_ They had stopped to pick up a pizza and beer before heading to her townhouse to watching some romantic comedy that she had picked out. He agreed to the ridiculous movie knowing that it was actually what she needed to get her mind off the case._

_ Once the pizza had been finished, JJ had settled herself into Derek's side and pulled a blanket over the two of them before turning the movie on. While the previews were playing, she had simply leaned up and placed a small kiss just behind his ear, whispered 'thank you', and easily settled back into his arms. That moment… that was the precursor to Derek deciding that he was going to propose that night. So while JJ watched the movie, he planned it out in his head._

_ So engrossed in his planning, he failed to realize that JJ had gotten extremely quiet halfway through the movie so when he glanced down to say something to her, he was surprised to see her sleeping, her face buried into his chest._

_ He did however realize that his arm was asleep moments later and cringed. Glancing down at the blonde once again, he sighed. There was no way he was going to wake her up now. She had run herself ragged on the case and needed all the sleep she could get. And she just looked so perfect there…_

_ So instead of following through with his plans, he stretched for the remote control, turned the television off, and managed to maneuver himself into a lying position with her still cradled against him before closing his eyes for the night._

_**When she's layin' on my shoulder on the sofa in the dark**__**  
**__**And about the time she falls asleep so does my right arm**__**  
**__**And I want so bad to move it 'cause it's tinglin' and it's numb**__**  
**__**But she looks so much like an angel that I don't wanna wake her up**__**  
**__**Yeah I live for little moments  
**_

Sure, Derek had been a little disappointed that he didn't get to pop the question that night but he got the spend the night with her in his arms so it wasn't all bad. Besides, he knew that he would have another chance, when the timing was better, and when JJ wasn't so burnt out and they could fully enjoy the moment.


End file.
